Martinez favourite for the Hull job

Former Everton manager Roberto Martinez has emerged as the frontrunner to take over at Hull. The Tigers are looking for a new boss after Steve Bruce opted to resign from the club last Friday. Martinez has been without a club since leaving Everton at the back end of last season but is now the bookies favourite to take over at the newly-promoted Humberside club.

Since Bruce's departure, his former assistant Mike Phelan has been in temporary charge and has outlined his desire to take the job on a permanent basis. The club however will need to make a decision soon with the new Premier League season little over two weeks away. Hull have yet to bring in a single senior player this summer ahead of their return to the top flight and their pre-season campaign has been blighted by a number of injuries. There has been also been much talk over a purported takeover this summer, just to add to the growing feeling of uncertainty currently surrounding the club.

The appointment of Roberto Martinez however could go a long way in addressing some of the fans concern and arrival of the Spaniard is certainly what the bookmakers are expecting. Martinez is odds-on across many of the bookies though he is offered at a best-priced 9/4 with Boylesports. The 43-year-old worked wonders in keeping Wigan in the Premier League for a number of years despite the odds being stacked firmly against him and also led Everton to fifth during his first season at the club. He is widely renowned as a manager that gets his teams playing an attractive brand of football.

As previously mentioned, current caretaker boss Mike Phelan has spoken of his interest in taking the job full time and is currently the second favourite with the bookies. Having previously worked under Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford, Phelan has experience of coaching at the very highest level, although he has never previously managed a club. The 53-year-old is some way behind Martinez in the running and is shortest at 5/1 but is found at the best value with Skybet at odds of 8/1.

The club have reportedly drawn up a shortlist of five names that could replace Bruce and it is anticipated that the two men previously discussed feature on that list. Steve Mclaren has also feature heavily amongst the bookmakers reckoning whilst Roy Keane has also been tipped for a return to management with the Tigers.